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The struggles continued for the Stetson men’s soccer team on Sunday afternoon as the Hatters fell to Lipscomb by a score of 1-0 at the Athletic Training Center.

A scoreless contest for over 82 minutes, neither the Hatters nor the Bisons could take the advantage on the scoreboard until late in the match. Lipscomb’s Zach Tarbox stole the ball from Stetson in the Hatters’ own zone, and played it through to a sprinting Kevin McMahon.

McMahon finished it past goalkeeper Andreas Schnabl to give Lipscomb the late 1-0 lead that proved to be the final score just over seven minutes later.

The Bisons (5-5-1, 1-1-0) were on the offensive all day long, outshooting the Hatters 19-8 overall and recording eight corner kicks while Stetson couldn’t manage a single one. Lipscomb forced Schnabl to make three saves on the day, while Bison goalkeeper Micah Bledsoe recorded just one.

Stetson (1-7-2, 0-2-0) wasn’t without its opportunity to take the lead itself though. With just over 26 minutes remaining senior Evan Jimmo played a perfect ball through the Lipscomb defense to junior Dwight Lodge. Lodge then played the ball back into the box from the endline to Jimmo, who missed just wide right.

Down 1-0 late in the game, Stetson was awarded a free kick from just outside the box on the right side. Around the one minute mark senior Raffaele Centofanti played the set piece into the box to sophomore Ross Morison, whose header was just barely saved by Bledsoe. The rebound came out to senior JJ Bostic, who fired a shot past the outstretched arms of Bledsoe, but went just off the post.

That was the last chance the Hatters had as Lipscomb closed it out the final minute and left DeLand with the 1-0 victory.

"It's rough to start our conference season with two losses at home," senior captain Steven Saballos said. "We always pride ourselves in defending our home turf, but due to some unfortunate mistakes in both games, we're now forced to perform under some pressure.

"The team is capable of working itself out of this hole, and we look forward to taking on the challenge collectively," Saballos continued. "Our recent losses are more than enough motivation as we move forward. We all just need to stay focused and work as a unit to earn points in the weekend ahead of us."

Stetson will continue the season next weekend, playing at USC Upstate on Oct. 11 and at ETSU on Oct. 13.